Partially carbonized sheet for use with post cards and method of using the (partially carbonized) sheet and post card together



July 6, 1943.

H. F. MERAS PARTIALLY CARBONIZED SHEETS FOR USE WITH POST CARDS AND METHOD OF USING THE (PARTIALLY CARBONIZED) SHEETS AND POST CARDS TOGETHER Filed March 10, 1941 w n S m M A Patented July 6, 1943 UNHTED STATES PATSNT ()FZFICE PARTIALLY CARBONIZED SHEET FOR USE WITH POST CARDS (PARTIALLY CARBONIZED) USING THE AND METHOD OF My invention relates to the fabrication and use of carbon-backed paper forms, particularly that class of form that has received on one side only, intermittent areas of carbon coating or other transfer material, commonly referred to as stripe carboning or spot carbonizing," and more particularly to the size, shape and position of two unequal areas (spots) of carbon with respect to a non-carboned space and a fold, both the latter being interposed between them, and with respect to each other, all with respect to use thereof in conjunction with the process of writing or typewriting on the obverse and reverse sides of cards, especially U. S. Government postal cards, an address and a message respectively.

The object of my invention is to provide a solution to the problem of producing a carbon copy for filing or reference purposes of whatever message and/or address one wishes to write or type on a postal card or ony other card.

Another object is to reduce the time, postage and stationery expenses consumed in writing and mailing of routine and semi-routine orders and messages in business offices by elimination of a letterhead, envelope, and one or two cents of postage, one cent being saved on local mail and two cents on non-local domestic mail, the above mentioned savings being considered attributable to the carbon-backed folder'only when, because of its presence, a post card is thereby used when otherwise the more costly paper-form-in-sealed envelope method would have been used I accomplish the objects set forth by providing the intermittently carbon-backed light faced form illustrated in. the accompanying drawing,

in which: v

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the reverse side. of one of the preferred embodiments of my invention shown in open position to show the relative size and position of the two carbon spots of unequal area with respect to the fold and the non-carboned space which run substantially parallel between them;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the obverse side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shOWs the form after folding from the flat position shown in Figure l with the postal card inserted and jogged down into the fold in position for addressing;

Figure 4 shows the form inverted after being turned clockwise or counter-clockwise from the vertical position shown in Figure 3, with the postal card jogged down away from the fold and even with the opposite open edges of the folded form;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is the inverted Figure 5;

Figure '7 shows the folded form with the card inserted in position shown in Figure 6 ready for receiving the message and showing a portion of an original message Written in the proper place onthe folder, and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of another form of the invention showing a means for holding, and/or supporting an edge of the card against gravity in proper alinement with the carboned area which reproduces the message on the corresponding and opposing surface of the card.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 9 is the larger carboned area intended to be of at least as great a width and height as those of the useful or effective message space on the message side of a U. S. Government postal card. The numeral I0 is a no-n-carboned space extending directly below 9 and continuing to the fold. The numeral H is a simple transverse fold, the less than side facing frontward. The numeral 92 is the smaller carboned area intended to be of a size at least great enough to be capable of reproducing any normal four-line address and of a height substantially equal to that of the non-carboned space it, and so positioned with respect to the fold that when the form is folded upon itselfv no part of this carboned area l2 will coincide with any part of the larger carboned area 9. I3 is the non-carboned space adjacent to and directly below the smaller carboned area l2 and having dimensions substantially identical with the larger carboned area 9, andis removed substantially the same distance below the fold l I and as the carboned area 9 is above the fold.

The numeral I 4 indicates printing on that portion of the obverse face of the form intended to receive the original writing impressions constituting the order or message, said printing so indicating the purpose of this space and designating further the, proper places in which and lines on which the various parts of the order or messagernust be written in order that the duplicate carbon impressions thereof shall automatically alin-e themselves or register accurately in the corresponding positions on the card which. is printed substantially to match that on the folder.

[5 is a guide line intended to designate the proper space in which the original writing impressions constituting the address are to be made so that the lines of said address shall be made only on the area backed by the smaller carboned area l2.

I6 is a not too accurate reproduction of the indicia found on the address side of a U. S. Government postal card, consisting of two parts, one resembling the one cent indicium, the other giving directions substantially as this side for address. I! is the postal card itself. 18 is the printed stamp or one cent indicium on the postal card.

In Fig. 8, the numeral I9 indicates the tongues or tabs protruding at an acute angle from the surface of the reverse side of the sheet for holding or supporting an edge of the post card against gravity in proper alinement with the carboned area 9.

Hitherto, various attempts have been made to solve the same problem, namely, that of providing a method, paper form, specially designed post card, or other device for obtaining a carbon copy for filing and reference purposes of a message and address that is to be written or typewritten on a postal card, but none have proved satisfactory in business offices with the possible exception of the simple procedure of superimposing, stacking and jogging together with the postal card of a piece of ordinary all-over carbon copying paper and an ordinary unfolded second sheet, both out down to the size of the postal card and then writing the adress and message directly on the surface of the card. At any rate, few business ofiices have been willing to bother with this method of stacking sheets of carbon paper and second sheets in conjunction with postal cards, with the result that all but a few business firms simply have not used postal cards for correspondence purposes except on rare occasions when the message involved was of so trivial a nature that the making or retaining of a carbon copy was deemed not worth the trouble of obtaining.

In the practice of the invention, the postal card is inserted between the intermittently carbonized surfaces of the folded form in a particular manner, namely with the address and message sides of the postal card facing the areas [2 and 9, respectively, and the lower edge of the postal card nearest the fold l I, this lower edge actually resting in and touching the entire length of the fold while the card is being addressed.

Before writing or typing the massage, the position of the card must be changed, the card being moved away from the fold until the upper edge of the card coincided with the upper edge of the carboned area, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. This change of position of the card may be effected by various ways, probably the simplest being the jogging metho which utilizes gravity in bringing the top edge of the card down even with the open edge of the inverted folded form, as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

This jogging method is practical especially when the top edge of the carboned area 9 substantially coincided with the top edge of the form.

There may be variations of this form in which the carboned area 9 is positioned away from the top edge of the form, as for instance, when placed on a larger sheet. In this and other instances, it may be desirable to move the card from the address position to the message position by grasping the card with the fingers and placing it substantially over the carboned area 9.

Although some of the benefits from the use of either form of this invention may be enjoyed without the aid of any printing on either the folder or the postal card, the full advantages of the invention cannot be realized without matched printing done on both card and folder and it is so being marketed.

The printing on the folder is especially important to the satisfactory practice of the invention, inasmuch as without it, and sometimes even with it, an untutored prospective user finds great difficulty in figuring out how to use the folder and card in the proper manner. The technique of their use, though simple to the initiated, is suificiently tricky, to temporarily bafile and confuse even experienced typists.

The imitation of the U. S. postal card indicia I 6 is printed on the obverse side of the folder in the same relative position above the fold line H, as is the genuine indicia I8 above the lower edge of the card, the purpose being to indicate to the user exactly in what position the postal card is to be placed within the folder, and in what direction it is to face, it being understood that the imitation indicia IE on the folder is to lie over and coincide with the genuine indicia N3 of the postal card at least during the addressing process, which is generally done prior to writing the message.

Without the guide line IS, the untutored would be subject to possible delay and confusion in determining just the proper place to write the address, considerable annoyance resulting should the address be typed above the carbon-backed area I2.

Another important element upon which depends the successful operation of the invention is the matched printing of the message sides of both folder and postal card. Without this matched printing feature it is impossible to tell just where the lines of typing are going to appear on the postal card as it is hidden from View by the opaque folder; and inasmuch as the appearance and usefulness of the postal card is enhanced greatly by printing on its message side of various date lines, salutation lines, signature lines, etc. it becomes practically necessary that the corresponding message receiving area of the folder be printed to match in order that whatever lines of writing may be typed on the folder shall reproduce themselves on the postal card in proper and exact positions to register in the proper and corresponding positions. It is in this manner that the folder and postal card are being marketed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sheet of paper nd a post card, said sheet having a light-faced obverse side and on its reverse side two areas of transfer material of substantially rectangular shape and of unequal size, the larger substantially equal to the size and shape of said post card, the smaller disposed in substantially parallel position to the long edge of the larger, and of a size sufficient to enable it to transfer any normal handwritten four-line address, and having a non-transferring space interposed between and coextensive with both transferring areas, said space having its short or vertical dimension not less than that of the smaller transferring area, whereby said sheet and card become original and duplicate respectively of the writing of both address and message written thereon.

2. The combination of a post card and a sheet of paper as described in claim 1, said sheet having a transverse fold running substantially parallel to the long edges of the areas of transfer material, said fold being made substantially midway between the edge of the larger area nearest the smaller, and that edge of the smaller area furthest removed from the larger, whereby when the fold is completed the smaller transferring area opposes said non-transferring space, and whereby when said post card is inserted properly within the folded sheet it will be in position to receive duplicate impressions of the original writing impressions of the address and after altering the position of the post card, of the message as written on said sheet.

3. The method or system of making an original copy of an address and/or message on the light-faced obverse side of a sheet of paper, the duplicate impressions of which are made simultaneously on the address and/ or message sides of a post card by means of two discontinuous areas of transfer material previously applied to the reverse side of said sheet, said areas being of unequal size and substantially rectangular in shape, the larger area substantially equal in size to that of the post card, the smaller area of sufficient size to enable it to transfer any normal handwritten four-line address, said areas being separated by a nontransferring space having its short or vertical dimension not less than that of the smaller transferring area, said copy and duplicate impressions being made while said sheet is in a folded condition, the transfer areas facing inwardly, and while said post card is enclosed between the folds in a particular manner,

namely when the address is being written, with bottom edge of the post card adjacent to the actual 'fold and with its address portion directly opposing the smaller transfer area, and, when the message is being written, with the message side of the postcard opposing and coinciding with the larger transfer area of said sheet, said latter position of the post card requiring a moving of the post card away from its former position adjacent to the fold.

4. The combination of a post card and a sheet of paper as described in claim 1, said sheet having protruding from the surface of the reverse side of the sheet a single (or a plurality of) tongue or tab at an acute angle (with respect to the surface of that portion of said sheet occupied by the larger area of transfer material) said tongue joining with the sheet at a point which coincides with the long edge of the post card when said post card is in substantially perfect alinement with the larger transfer area whereby when said post card is placed with its long edge in the base of said acute angle and with its message side opposing the larger transfer area that said tongue will act as a support and guide to said post card while it is being rolled into a typewriter so that whatever original writing impressions are made on the light obverse side of said sheet in that area designated for the message will be reproduced in duplicate impressions on the unseen post card in the same relative position on said post card as are the original writing impressions on the said message area of the sheet.

HALFORD FRYE MERAS. 

